2014 Dakar Rally Route Announced – Bolivia Replaces Peru on New Route

Dakar Rally organizers have revealed the route for the 2014 edition of the legendary off-road race. Scheduled for Jan. 5-18, 2014, the 35th edition of the Dakar Rally returns to South America and adds Bolivia to its route. The route will include several marathon stages and special stages, testing competitors’ endurance as well as their tactics.

The 2014 Dakar Rally will begin in Rosario, Argentina, the birthplace of Che Guevara located on the Paraná River about 185 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. From Rosario, the route travels westward before turning north towards San Juan and continuing alongside the Andes to Salta, which will host a rest day Jan. 11. From Salta, the route travels north to the Bolivian border.

Bolivia becomes the 28th country to host a portion of a Dakar Rally, hosting one of several extra-long marathon stages. Curving northwest, the route travels through the Andes and across the border into Chile into the Atacama Desert, a plateau with an elevation of about 5000 feet. The route then turns south, traveling across Chile between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean before ending at the Pacific seaport of Valparaíso, Chile.

Competitors can register for the 2014 Dakar Rally starting May 15. Motorcycle entries must be submitted by July 7 while competitors in other classes have until Nov. 1.